Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama plans to attend a Sunday ceremony in Kobe marking the 15th anniversary of the Great Hanshin Earthquake, which claimed more than 6,000 lives, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano said Thursday.
"Arrangements are currently under way for the prime minister to attend the ceremony, and it is OK for you to understand that he will attend it," the top government spokesman told a regular press conference.
The magnitude 7.3 quake hit the port city and other areas in Hyogo Prefecture and its vicinity on Jan. 17, 1995, leaving more than 6,000 people dead, injuring thousands more and displacing many others who experienced prolonged hardship from damaged homes and severed lifelines.